


Twinkle Twinkle Little Nightmare

by Nefertiti1052 (Succubusphan)



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dungeons & Dragons References, Happy Ending, Inspired by Stranger Things (TV 2016), Kid Fic, M/M, Supernatural Elements, Teenage Dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:47:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25384051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Succubusphan/pseuds/Nefertiti1052
Summary: When their friend goes missing, Phil, Tom and Chris venture into the woods to find him but find a strange boy instead.
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 10
Kudos: 15
Collections: Phandom Reverse Bang 2020





	Twinkle Twinkle Little Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> This is my third fic for this edition of the @phandomreversebang. Thank you to @softphiily for creating the amazing art and prompt for this fic and being super supportive and understanding with me! A special thank you and a shout out to @thoughtathought and @artlessdynamite for being my step in betas at the last fucking minute, I love you guys so much, it really meant the world for me.

At the Lester residence, laughter, yelling and snacks were the protagonists of the evening. Four friends sat around the table; their unity tested to the max. In their 12 years of existence, they had hardly come across such a difficult situation. 

Phil, the dungeon master, sat at the head of the table, gesticulating wildly and acting out every single new development in the game. 

He raised his hands and shaped his hands into claws, screeching. “The Demogorgon appears from the shadows, he approaches fast towards the party. Pj, what will you do? Will you cast a protective spell or fireball?”

Pj, trembled slightly, unsure at how to proceed. Both options were dangerous; he was definitely in a tough spot. “I don’t know! I don’t know!” He threw his hands in the air.

Tom stood and paced around the room. “Cast a defensive spell! It’s the safest choice!”

Chris jumped from his seat and shook his friend with both hands. “Come on Peej! Cast fireball! It’s our only chance!”

Pj shook his head, making his curls bounce. He pushed them up with a huff. “I would need to roll a 13! It’s _highly_ unlikely!”

Phil raised his eyebrows. “Peej, the time is running out, what will it be?”

“Defensive spell!” Yelled Tom. 

Chris pulled at his own hair. “No Peej, look at me! Fireball that mother fucker! You can do it!”

Pj looked between his friends. The fate of the party was in his hands. He closed his eyes and as he let the dice fall from his hand he said “Fireball!” 

The dice rolled and fell off the edge of the table, the four of them scrambled around, looking for them. Pj saw it first, lying underneath the work table where Mr Lester kept his tools. “There!” He picked it up and realized his fate was written. It was a 7.

Mrs Lester entered with a very stern face and announced the campaign was over for the night. “Phil! Time to finish up, it’s a school night!”

“But Mom, we are almost done! Please, just one more hour!”

“Dinner is ready, you can continue another day. Come on then, go wash up for dinner.” She ruffled his hair and left.

Phil groaned and started to put everything away.

As the boys put on their coats, Pj whispered to Chris “I got a 7, does it still count?”

“Did Phil see it?”

“No.”

Chris squeezed his shoulder softly. “Then it doesn’t count. You can roll again next time.”

Tom and Chris said their goodbyes first and left. Pj stayed back for a moment, chewing softly on his lip. He didn’t like keeping secrets from Phil. He looked at the dice and rolled them between his fingers.

He put on his backpack and left the dice on the table. “It was a 7. I got a 7. The Demogorgon got to me, Phil.”

“Sorry,” said Phil. “We will get him next time, I promise.”

-

The boys rode their bikes home together, each of them separating from the group as they arrived at their destination. Chris lived only a few blocks away, but Tom accompanied Pj for most of the journey. 

To lift his friend’s spirits, Tom offered Pj a race down to his house, the winner would get any comic book the other had. Pj didn’t wait a second longer, he raised his body from the bike and sped up as fast as his young legs would take him. He hadn’t been able to take on the Demogorgon, but he would at least win this. 

Tom rode close behind him. “Hey, I didn’t say go! This is unfair!”

“Na-ah! You said any comic, I’ll take your X- men #128!” Pj yelled back as they approached Tom’s house.

“Oh, _come on_!” Tom yelled as he made his way to the driveway. 

“Bye, Tom!” Pj smiled and waved as he rode off. He laughed, leaving his spluttering friend behind. 

It was fortunate that he was no longer afraid of the dark since it had gotten quite late. He inhaled the fresh air as he rode into the back road that would take him home. Only a few more blocks through the woods and he would be there. He slowed his pace a bit to cross a patch of icy road, but before he could reach the other side, a tall figure with inhumanly long arms ran into the street and blocked his path. 

Pj yelled in panic and braced himself as he slid to the side of the road. He landed on his side, the air knocked out of him but the adrenaline running through his veins kept him going. He jumped to his feet and started running as best as he could. A scrape on his knee slowed him down, but it seemed he had effectively avoided whatever that creature was. He finally made it home, running inside and locking the door behind him. He called for his Mum but there was no answer. He hid by flushing his body to the wall beside the door, checking out the window to see if he was safe but, where there had only been dark a few moments ago, now stood the creature. 

Pj tried reaching for the phone to dial 911 but it was too late. The creature was close.

He ran to his room and hid under his bed. In an attempt to calm his breathing, he covered his mouth and his nose with both hands. He shut his eyes tightly as he heard the front door rattle. He was going to be ok, he just needed to hide. 

Suddenly, the noise stopped. 

He held his breath. Maybe the creature was gone. He risked opening his eyes - there was nothing but darkness. 

He breathed a sigh of relief right before something slimy wrapped itself around his ankles and pulled him out of his hiding spot. Pj screamed, his eyes wide open, his nails dragging against the wood flooring as he was dragged into the closet. 

-

Sirens rang loudly in the Cumbria Research Lab. One of the containment doors had been ripped off its hinges. The lights in the entire building flickered as the security personnel scrambled around trying to find the fugitive test case. 

Outside an electric storm wreaked havoc, decreasing the visibility to only a few meters. A curly-haired boy ran as fast as his legs would carry him, the white hospital gown clinging to his body, the swampy grass squelching with every footstep as he escaped from the place that had entrapped him for as long as he could remember.

His heart beat so hard he thought he was going to have a heart attack but that didn’t stop him. Anything would be better than staying at the lab, even death. He was unsure about how to cross the barbed wire fence until he saw a drain big enough from him to crawl through; no adults would be able to follow him. With one last look to the lab, he made his way to freedom.

\--

“Where is he?” Dr Taylor demanded. The lights flickered incessantly above him.

The head of security stood before his team and extended a hand towards them indicating he would be the one speaking. “We haven’t been able to find him, sir.”

“He is a child for heaven’s sake,” Dr Taylor threw his hands in the way. “How far could have he gotten?”

The man frowned, remembering the previous incidents with the kid in question. “He is not just _any_ child, sir.”

“Still, he has never gone outside. He couldn’t have gone far. Search every room, the vents, the isolation tanks, _everything_!” Dr Taylor yelled.

“Yes, sir.” The man turned to his team and nodded, pulling his gun out of its holster.

“Bring him alive, his life is worth ten of yours.” Dr Taylor sneered. “And hurry, we can’t have him running around during the outbreak.”

\--

The following morning found the Liguori household in utter chaos. Elena rushed to get ready for work, poured herself a mug of coffee and walked around the house looking for her jacket. She noticed her son wasn’t up for breakfast yet, so she knocked on his door.

“Peej? Are you up, baby? I’ve left you breakfast on the table! Don’t be late for school!” She waited but there was no reply. “Peej?” She opened the door and found nothing but an empty bed. Pj’s pyjamas still laid down on the chair where she had left them the previous day before leaving for her night job. 

Bile started to rise in her throat, panic took over her. She ran into the bathroom. Empty. 

The garage, her bedroom, the backyard. All empty. 

Pj’s bike wasn’t even in the usual spot. She tried to think if she’d heard him the previous night. She had returned late from work and - 

She went to call the Lesters but stopped short when she saw the phone was hanging from its base. 

She had called her mother before leaving and had put the phone back in its place. That made no sense at all. If Pj would’ve come home, his bike and his jacket would be in their usual place. 

With a silent prayer, she dialled the number and asked Kath if Pj had slept over, but she’d said no. Trying not to alarm anyone just yet, Elena called in sick for work and went about searching for her son. She would need to check his hiding spot in the woods.

\--

Phil, Chris and Tom left their bikes outside the school noticing that Pj’s bike was not in the usual spot. It was not common that their friend would miss school but they assumed he had just rushed into class. When they did not run into Pj during the first period or the rest of the day, they decided they would call him once they got home.

That afternoon, they stopped by Tom’s house and tried to get a hold of Pj using a walkie talkie to no avail; his home phone went straight to voicemail. Phil suggested that they go to his house, but since it was almost dinner time, they didn’t get the chance.

The following day was pure and simple torture. They still had no news from Pj _and_ they got a pop quiz. They asked around for their friend, tried to catch him in different classes, but nobody had seen him. That was not like Pj; he _never_ missed school.

Getting increasingly worried about their friend, the boys went straight to his house to check on him. They had assumed that he was sick, or had travelled somewhere with his mum, but they never imagined they would find the police already there. 

Mrs Liguori was a nervous mess. She paced around her porch and refused to tell them anything other than Pj hadn’t made it back from Phil’s house.

“Did he say anything?” She asked. “Was he acting weird?” Her voice trembled with every word.

“No, we rode down together until we got to my house and he continued on his way here,” Tom explained, one of the officers writing down everything he said.

“Children run away all the time,” A police officer said, sounding bored. “I’m sure he is fine.”

“Not my Pj, he is a good kid.” Mrs Liguori said. “He would have never left without telling me. We only have each other,” She sobbed.

“Pj would have never run away!” Chris scowled.

“Please leave the premises, we are conducting a search here,” the officer said with a flat voice.

After giving her a tight hug, Phil, Chris and Tom grabbed their bikes and rode back to Phil’s house. 

Taking advantage of having the place to themselves, they took over the living room. Phil paced from one side of the room to the other, while Chris sat down in Mr Lester’s recliner and Tom attacked a packet of crisps as he flipped through the tv channels. 

“This is insane. Why wouldn’t they tell us what’s going on with Peej?” Phil asked.

“They think we are too stupid to handle it or something,” Chris huffed. 

“Do you think he is ok?” Tom asked. His jaw almost hit the floor when he saw it. The news channel was at Pj’s. “Look!” 

The other two boys finally turned to look at the tv. 

“ _Sarah, the police have yet to find the missing boy, Pj Liguori. He left a friend’s house two nights ago around 7pm, but he never made it home. Some contradictory evidence has been found, but the police are refusing to give any other information during the ongoing investigation. Back to you in the studio.”_

_“Thank you, Vicky, we hope that Pj returns home safe and sound soon. Now, coming from the Cumbria Research Lab we have yet more alarming news. We have Greg Smith on site. Greg, what can you tell us?”_

_“Sarah, Dr Taylor, head of the research facility, is giving an official statement, let’s hear him.”_

_The camera panned to a grey-haired man in his late 40s, wearing a lab coat and a saccharine smile. “Thank you all for coming. We appreciate your help in spreading the news, it will be of great importance for the public’s health.” He cleared his throat before continuing, “We have determined, alongside the Cumbria Government that the town will go into full quarantine starting today at midnight.”_

_The reporters around Dr Taylor all started talking at the same time but he pointed at one of them in particular. “Yes, Mr Smith?”_

_“What is the reason for such a drastic measure!?” The journalist asked_

_“This decision was not taken lightly. We believe it is the most appropriate response to the outbreak of an unidentified virus that has started to spread among two families in this town and has already claimed the lives of four people. We are working against the clock to determine how the virus spreads from person to person and how to treat it.”_

_Mr Smith yelled above his peers once again. “This is unprecedented, how long can we expect this quarantine to last?”_

_“We are not certain, but let me make this very clear, it is of great importance that we follow this guidance. We must contain it and we must be in contact only with the people living with us. All communal activities will be cancelled until further notice. For now, we must go into social distancing until we can get more information about this. Thank you.” Dr Taylor said, turning on his heels and walking away from the now agitated group of journalists._

“Mother fucker!” Tom said. “Look, they have already blocked all the town exits!” The TV showed police cars blocking all the roads leaving town.

“Who gives a shit, we are not going anywhere. Maybe this way we’ll find Pj faster.” Chris said.

Phil resumed his pacing around the room. “Right. So we all agree that Pj would have never run away without telling us.”

“Of course not!” Chris frowned. 

“Nah-ah!” Tom agreed.

Phil nodded. “So we need to -” 

They heard a car pull over on the driveway and quickly gathered all their stuff before running upstairs to Phil’s room. 

Phil opened the door and ushered the others in before slamming it shut. They all sat silently on his bed, catching their breath and listening for Mrs Lester on the floor below.

“Phil, are you home?” Her voice indicated that she was still downstairs.

“Yeah!” He replied.

“Are Tom and Chris up there with you?” 

Phil turned towards his friends. Chris shook his head vigorously but Tom nodded as he popped another chip in his mouth. 

“Tell her we left,” Chris whispered.

“Don’t be stupid, she must have heard about Pj. She must have talked to our mums already.” Tom argued back in a hushed tone.

“Yeah-” Phil started.

Mrs Lester opened the door and stared at them. “There you are! Your mothers have been looking for you like crazy. You need to go straight home.”

“But mom!” Phil pleaded.

Her voice softened. “I’m sorry Phil, I know you might want to be with them now. Did you -” She cleared her throat and put her hand on his shoulder. “Have you heard about Pj?”

Her tone made Phil want to weep. “He missed school, and they are looking for him.”

“Yes, he has gone missing.” She pressed her lips into a line. “You don’t know anything about it, do you?”

The three boys shook their heads.

“Ok. Please go home, boys.” She sat on Phil’s bed with a heavy sigh and ran a hand through her hair. Phil noticed that he had never thought of his mom as someone old, but at that moment, she looked aged. Worry lines around her eyes and a defeated look on her face. “They will find him soon; don’t you worry about it.”

“Yeah,” Tom said, grabbing his backpack. “Goodbye, Mrs Lester.” He waved at Phil and left.

“Yeah, goodbye.” Chris eyed Phil and then his walkie talkie and left, backpack in hand. 

For the first time in a while, Phil found himself wrapped in his mother’s arms as he finally let the tears out. 

He needed to find his friend.

\--

As soon as his mom had gone to start dinner, Phil pulled his walkie talkie out of his drawer and extended the antenna to call Chris, but he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Yeah?” Phil asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

“Can I come in?” Martyn asked.

Phil frowned, why would his older brother be bothering to talk to him instead of sucking face with his girlfriend as usual? There was only one way to find out. “Yeah, sure.”

The door opened to reveal Martyn and Cornelia, his girlfriend. They smiled at him awkwardly and stepped inside. 

“So, what’s up?” Phil asked.

“We just want to know how you are doing,” Cornelia said, sitting beside him on the bed. “Any news from Pj?” 

“No, we went to his house and the police were there. They think he ran away.”

Martyn frowned. “Pj would never run away!” 

“Yeah, that’s what we said.” Phil shrugged.

“How are you feeling?” Cornelia asked softly.

“I’m worried about Pj, I-” Phil started to feel choked up again so he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I know he will be ok; we just need to find him.”

“Can you promise me something?” Martyn asked,

“What?”

“If you are going to go on some crazy hunt for clues or whatever it is that you are planning, _don’t deny it_ , you will tell me so I can go with you. We don’t need two missing kids - or four.”

Phil shivered at the thought. He and Martyn didn’t usually talk about this kind of stuff, but it was nice to know he was there. “Ok.”

“Thank you,” said Martyn. 

Cornelia ruffled his hair and gave him a tight hug. 

\--

Phil scrambled to finish his dinner so he could finally get back to his bedroom to contact Chris. “Chris, Chris! Are you there? Over.”

“Yeah,” said Chris with a huff. “What took you so long? Over.” 

“My mom wanted to talk and the police came asking if I knew anything but my mom only let them talk to me for like five minutes; then Martyn wanted to talk. Over”

“Yeah, they came here too,” Chris said. “What are we going to do to find Pj? Over.”

Phil considered it for a moment before replying. “Get Tom and meet me at the park in one hour. Bring all the weapons. Over.”

Phil could tell that Chris was rolling his eyes at him. “Fine, fine. Over and out.”

\--

The boys retraced the steps Pj took that night starting from Tom’s house. 

On their way to Tom’s they crossed four trucks from the Cumbria Research Lab. They had slowed down beside them, looked at them attentively without saying anything before driving away. 

“What was that all about?” Chris asked.

Tom shivered. “I don’t know but it was creepy.” 

Being much more aware of their surroundings, they finally started to ride to Pj’s. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, yet the woods looked incredibly ominous. Most of the animals had fallen strangely silent and the atmosphere felt heavy, as if the darkness had swallowed it all. 

A shiver ran down Phil’s spine, but he didn’t let it deter him. He rode his bike a little faster, getting ahead of the others, trying to figure out what the weird shine on the road was but he realized a bit too late that it was an ice patch. As soon as his tires hit it, he lost all semblance of balance. His bike skidded, causing him to roll down the side of the road, the leaves softening most of his fall. “Fuck!” he yelled. His bike laid on the road, one of the tires spinning on its own.

“Phil!” The boys ran after him. They stopped short of the ice patch and left their bikes beside Phil’s. Tom pulled out his flashlight and checked the surrounding area. 

“It’s ok. I’m fine. It’s just a scratch,” Phil said.

“Are you sure,” Chris asked. “That was a nasty fall.”

“Yeah.” Phil nodded. “Come one, let’s go find Peej,” he said, finally getting to his feet with Chris’s help.

“Look,” Tom followed bike tire marks from the middle of the road to the opposite side where Phil had landed with his flashlight. They had left behind a trail going off the road and continuing through the dirt down to the woods. Someone else had fallen off a bike here recently.

The boys followed the marks down to the slope and only a few meters further down, laid Pj’s bike.

“Don’t touch it. The police might want to search it for clues. We can’t contaminate the evidence,” Tom said, leading the way.

They ran towards it but kept a cautionary distance, only examining it with the lights. Nothing looked out of place. It just seemed as if Pj had slipped on the ice and fallen, but there were no signs of him.

“Let’s go through the woods, it’s the shortest way from here,” Chris suggested.

They had almost made it to their destination when the snap of a branch and crushing leaves alerted them about the presence of another. They stood together back to back and flashing their lights all over, trying to identify the source of the noise. An owl hooted and soared into the night sky above them.

A shaking boy walked towards them. At first, Phil thought it was Pj’s curly hair, but he soon realized he was mistaken. “Please. I’m cold, help me,” the boy said, looking all around them in panic. He was wearing only a white hospital gown. His breath came in white clouds of vapour in the frigid night air and looked extremely pale, almost like a ghost.

Phil, Chris and Tom had a silent conversation between them and nodded.

“What’s your name?” Phil asked. 

The boy shivered and wrapped his arms around his frame. “I’m Dan.”

“Dan, are you hurt? Do you want us to call your parents?” Phil took a step forward.

Dan took a small step back. “No! They are dead. _Please_ , I need a place to stay,” he said letting his head hang in shame. 

Phil turned around addressing his friends. “We can’t leave him out here alone.” 

Chris shook his head but Tom nodded. 

Phil nodded. “It’s decided then, come on. You can wear my jacket, the bike ride will be chilly in that.”

Dan smiled thankfully and hopped on the back of Phil’s bike.

\--

Phil helped them sneak inside through the garage to avoid getting caught. If his mom knew he’d been outside in the night, he would be grounded until his 18th birthday.

The four boys silently made their way to the basement without a hitch, but soon after Phil realized there was a problem. He needed to get some things. 

He climbed up the stairs, feeling his heart pounding in his chest as he stood flushed to the wall waiting for his mother to go back upstairs. Once the kitchen was left silent, he opened the door and got what he needed; some clothes from the folding pile and a plate of leftover meatloaf for Dan. 

He had almost made it back down when Martyn caught him. 

“Where were you?” He demanded in a hushed tone. 

“In the basement,” Phil lied.

Martyn closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “Phil, you promised.”

“Fine, fine. I was at the park with Chris and Tom and another friend from school. He is new.”

“Is that for him?” Martyn asked pointing to the stuff Phil was carrying.

“Yeah. He fell in the mud so I’m giving him clo-”

“Martyn is that you?” Kath asked from the top floor.

Martyn mouthed ‘Go’ at him before climbing up the stairs. “Yeah, it’s me. Do you need anything?”

Phil rushed into the basement and shut the door with a sigh.

After Dan had eaten and gotten dressed, Phil decided to ask him more questions. He sat in front of Dan and leaned forward. “Dan, why were you alone in the woods?” He asked. 

Dan lowered his head letting his curls fall over his face and mumbled: “I was hiding.”

“From what?” Tom asked, cocking his head.

“Bad people.” Dan stretched the sleeves of his sweater and slid his hands inside until only his fingers were poking out.

Tom gave Phil a meaningful look and mouthed ‘What?’

Phil shrugged at Tom and looked back to Dan. ‘What if…’“Are they dangerous?” 

“Yes,” Dan said, sinking deeper into his chair. “They are still looking for me.”

Chris frowned. “What did they do?”

“T- they hurt me and kept me locked in.” 

The boys looked at each other in horror. 

“Were there any other boys?” Chris asked.

Dan shook his head. “I don’t know, I only saw the Doctors.”

Phil frowned. “Our friend is missing. We were out in the woods trying to find him. We think someone took him,” he explained. 

Dan finally looked at Phil between his curls. “You must care a lot about him. I don’t have any friends.” 

Phil placed his hand on Dan’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll be your friends.” 

Dan smiled, finally looking into Phil’s eyes.“Promise?” 

“Promise.”

As Phil made a bed for Dan under his father’s workbench complete with a makeshift curtain to hide, Chris kept trying to contact Pj over the walkie talkie. 

There was no reply, they decided to continue the following afternoon when they’d have the place to themselves again. 

\--

_A young Dan sat on the back seat of the car playing with a plastic dinosaur, the radio playing loudly. His dad was driving and talking about their plans to move to a new house, his mum clapping excitedly and commenting about decorating the kid’s rooms. Dan smiled and waved. The tires screeched, Dan felt a horrible falling sensation in his stomach as his mum called his name._

Dan woke up with a start. He wiped the tears falling from his eyes but the pain in his stomach and head remained. He didn’t understand why his memory of the day his parents died was so mixed up. He always saw the scene from the outside, as if he was a ghost. The Dan in his memory always waved at him.

He pulled the blanket over his head and tried to go back to sleep but it was impossible. He heard people upstairs say their goodbyes and leave. Dan could feel the anxiety in his stomach rising; he felt hungry and alone and he didn’t know when Phil would be back.

Dan heard the door to the basement opening and remained as still as he could under the covers, holding his breath, begging that he wouldn’t be found.

“Dan, it’s me,” said Phil. “I brought you breakfast.”

Dan emerged from under the covers. “Thank you,” he smiled. “I thought you had left.”

“Of course not, I skipped school. I wouldn’t leave you alone without anything to eat. Come on, let’s take this to my bedroom.”

“Is it safe?” Dan hesitated.

“Yes, everyone left already and they think I did too.” Phil extended his hand to Dan and helped him crawl out of his hiding spot. “Follow me,” he grabbed the tray and climbed up the stairs.

Phil shut the door behind them and sat down on his bed. Dan wandered in awe around the room. Everything was so colourful and full of life, nothing like his bedroom at the lab had been. His eyes lingered on a plastic dinosaur but he didn’t touch it. Instead, he grabbed a Death Star model and cocked his head, staring at it intently. 

For a moment Phil could have sworn that the model had floated above Dan’s fingers, but he blinked and it was gone. “Do you like Star Wars?” Phil asked.

Dan blinked in confusion. “I don’t know what that is.”

“It’s a movie, look.” Phil pointed to the poster on his closet door. “See? There’s the ship you are holding. It’s called Death Star.”

“Oh, I haven’t seen many movies. I wasn’t allowed,” Dan said absentmindedly.

Phil frowned. “We can watch it today if you want. I have the VHS.”

Dan smiled. “Ok.” He looked around a bit more before noticing the hamster cage. “Rats!” He said excitedly.

“Hamsters, actually. I breed them and sell them around the school,” Phil said proudly.

Dan giggled. “Can I hold one?”

“Sure! But be careful,” he said opening the cage. “This boy is Striker.”

Dan grabbed the small hamster gently and pet its soft fur.

“He likes you!” Phil smiled, his tongue poking out of his mouth.

Dan smiled and gave the hamster a kiss before returning it to Phil. “Thank you.” 

Once they finished breakfast and an entire pint of Ice Cream, they set up a movie marathon, starting with Star Wars. 

Dan sat close to Phil because it felt nice; nicer than sitting on the other side of the couch, away from his warmth. He had never felt so calm around another person. 

At some point, Phil placed his hand on Dan’s and looked straight into his eyes. Dan didn’t know what that meant but it felt _really_ nice, so he smiled and held onto Phil’s hand. To his surprise, Phil smiled back. 

Something that made Phil smile could never be bad. 

“I can move things with my mind sometimes,” Dan blurted out.

“No way!” Phil gave a single excited clap. “Can you show me?”

Dan nodded and made the remote fly above the coffee table briefly, but it soon fell back down. Dan pursed his lips. “It doesn’t always work well.”

“That’s amazing!” Phil said, placing his hand on Dan’s. “Can you move anything else?”

Dan looked at all the slightly crooked family pictures hanging on the wall and straightened them with no problem, then he looked to the back door and shut it softly.

“You are amazing, Dan. Thank you for telling me your secret.”

“Thank you for being my friend,” Dan smiled and gave Phil’s hand a squeeze.

They continued watching some of Phil’s favourite movies until Tom and Chris knocked on the front door. It was time to move back to the basement. 

\--

“Pj, It’s Chris. Are you there? Over!” There was no answer but the crackle of the signal. “Pj, it’s Chris. Are you there?”

“Leave it, Chris, it’s useless. The signal is too weak!” Phil said in distress. 

“It’s not, _shut up!_ ” Chris scowled. 

“Guys, stop fighting,” Tom whined, throwing himself on a chair. “We’ll never find Pj like this. We need to stay united.” 

“Pj! Pj! Answer, you stupid ass!” Chris yelled on the verge of tears. 

Dan felt chills course through his body and closed his eyes. Memories flooding his mind, making him shiver.

_Dr Taylor sat in front of him with a sweet smile.“Okay Dan, we need to find a cure for a terminal illness. We found a special kind of radiation beneath this lab; it seems to be another dimension. Our experiments show that it can affect the illness we are working on, so I want you to try and open a door for us with your mind. Can you do that for me?” The grey-haired man asked._

_“Will this help people?” Dan asked._

_“Of course. That’s what we do.” The man smiled. “That’s why you are here. Your blood makes you special. You have a gift that can help so many people. This is your duty, your contribution to the world.”_

_Dan glanced at the rat cages. They looked very ill. He knew it was part of the investigation, but it still made him sad; they were his only friends._

_“I can try.”_

_They strapped Dan to a chair and put electrodes on his head. He tried and tried, but he couldn’t reach the other side. After a few hours, Dr Taylor sighed in defeat and locked Dan alone in a dark room._

_It was the first of many attempts but Dan failed every time, causing Dr Taylor to grow increasingly angry at him._

_Since Dan couldn’t do what he’d been asked, they moved on to experimenting on the rats. They ordered Dan to hurt them but he wouldn't. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, so they gave him punishment after punishment, each crueller than the one before, but he still refused._

_The breaking point came when Dan was called to the research room and found the rats dead. They had done it to punish him._

_He was alone._

_He started sobbing, the power fluctuating, making the light bulbs Flicker, the sirens pierce the air and the fire alarm go off, activating the sprinklers._

_The very foundations of the building shook under Dan’s power. The personnel tried to restrain Dan, but he screamed and pushed his arms to the side. The security guards flew to the walls and fell unconscious._

_When they thought they had contained Dan, he screamed even louder, throwing everyone in the vicinity against the wall. His entire body shook but he continued to scream at the top of his lungs. The far wall of the lab cracked open and an ominous purple glow came through. An animal of some sort could be heard growling on the other side. Dan tried to close it back up but before he got the chance, Dr Taylor jumped on him and injected something into his system._

_Ever since that day, Dan wasn’t allowed out of his room. They never asked him to go back, to fix it. He tried, but they kept him locked. Only a few days after the incident, the workers started showing signs of a new virus. One of the nice ladies who took care of Dan and worked with the rats was the first to die. He heard the workers saying it was a virus spreading fast amongst them. They were unable to stop it._

_It had been Dan’s fault. He had opened the door for the monster and the illness it brought to this world, but what had prompted Dan to escape was the fact that he heard the monster had taken someone. A boy._

_Dan had focused as hard as he could trying to locate the boy in his mind, to help him, but he had only caught a glimpse of him. Alone in the dark laid a boy in a red jacket with a small yellow tag that read. “Hi, my name is Pj.”_

Dan blinked, his mind returning to the present. He extended his hand towards Chris and focused all his energy on the object he was holding, trying to maximize its power. 

“Peej, Peej, can you hear me? Over!” Chris yelled.

The signal crackled and adjusted. “Chris?” the voice came distorted through the walkie talkie. 

“Peej, Is that you?” Chris asked. Phil and Tom rushing to his side. 

“Yes. Help me!” Pj sniffled on the other side of the line. 

Chris’s lips trembled. “Where are you?” 

“Hiding! It’s dark. Something took me!” 

The lights flickered all around the room and blood started to drip from Dan’s nose, his body trembling with the effort to keep the signal open. 

“Where?” Asked Phil urgently. 

“It looks like the woods outside my house but it’s not the same. I- I don’t know!” The radio signal crackled. “It’s coming, I have to go!” A growl and heavy footsteps could be heard through the walkie talkie, then a piercing scream. 

Dan screamed in panic, causing all the light bulbs in the basement to explode. Phil turned on a flashlight and pointed it to the ceiling. 

“Peej! PJ!” Chris yelled.

“Oh my god! Oh my god!” Tom said pacing back and forward. 

Phil looked at Dan’s pale face and rushed to him. 

Dan’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and his world went black. 

\--

“Dan! Dan, are you ok?” Phil shook his body trying to wake him up, tears rolling down his cheeks. 

“Phil, what’s going on?” Tom asked.

Phil hesitated but he needed to share the information with the rest of the party. “He has powers. He can do stuff with his mind sometimes!” 

“Holy shit!” Tom exclaimed. 

Dan groaned, stirring awake. “What happened?” 

“You fainted! I think you were helping us talk to Pj,” Phil explained, his eyes still watery. 

“Oh, Pj,” Dan closed his eyes and placed his hand on his temple trying to calm his headache down. 

“Does your head hurt?” Phil asked. “I can get you some painkillers.” 

“Ok, thank you. Would you get me some water too?” 

“Why not soda? The caffeine and sugar are always good,” Tom suggested. 

“Maybe both,” Dan smiled. 

Phil rushed upstairs to get the supplies.

“Thank you for helping us. That was amazing,” said Chris. 

Dan hesitated. Chris didn’t seem to like him much. “Really?” 

“Yeah, really,” Chris smiled, patting his shoulder. 

“Totally amazing!” Tom patted him on the shoulder. “You are like a mage!” 

“A mage?” Dan frowned.

“Yeah, we play this game.” Tom brought the board over. “It’s called dungeons and dragons. And each of us has a role every time we play. The last time Pj was our mage, a spell caster. He tried to fight the Demogorgon but it got him.” Tom passed the Demogorgon figurine to Dan. 

Dan shivered. “The Demogorgon has Pj,” he said. 

“How do you know?” Chris asked.

“I’ve seen him.” 

Phil returned, giving Dan a glass of water and the pills. “Here, have these first; you can drink the soda later.” 

Dan smiled. “Thanks.”

“Phil, Dan thinks the Demogorgon has Pj,” Tom said. 

“It’s not real, is it?” Phil asked. 

Dan thought for a moment. “It’s this creature, it lives in a place where it’s dark and looks like this town but it’s not. I’ve seen it.” 

“The veil of shadows. How did you get there?” Tom pressed. 

Dan pursed his lips. “Do you promise not to tell anyone?” 

“Yes. Of course!” Phil said. 

“Absolutely!” Chris agreed. 

“We would never betray you,” Phil promised. 

“Ok,” Dan said with a heavy sigh. “I escaped from a place where they research illnesses.” 

“Like the Cumbria Research Lab?” Tom asked. He had always wanted to go in there. 

“Yeah, there,” Dan nodded. “Doctors have kept me there for as long as I can remember. They use my ability to find cures for different conditions.” 

“Did they inject things into you?” Tom asked, cursing Phil to elbow him in retaliation. 

“No. Well, once they did because they couldn’t control me,” Dan scowled with a trembling voice. “They hurt my rats. They were my only friends.”

“I’m so sorry.” Phil laced their fingers together. 

“Thank you,” he sniffled. “They told me there was this radiation under the lab, like another dimension, and tried to force me to open an entrance into it.” 

“Did you do it?” Chris looked at him in a way that made Dan uneasy. 

“I didn’t, but they punished me. Over and over. When they killed my rats, I hurt them and the wall cracked. It was like an arch opening.” 

“A portal!” Tom said excitedly.

“I guess,” Dan frowned. “They went in, trying to find a cure for this thing they were working on, but they brought something else. People started to get sick, and die. I heard that it was related to the monster’s DNA.” 

“So _there is_ a Demogorgon,” Phil said.

“There is a monster that doesn’t look like any other kind of animal, that _hunts_ people. I think it escaped and took Pj.” Dan grabbed Pj’s colouring pencil case and his art book from a nearby chair and returned to his seat. 

“That’s Pj’s, be careful,” Phil instructed him, feeling strangely protective over anything that reminded him of his friend. 

Dan nodded and started drawing what he’d seen. A long humanoid creature with no face standing by a tree. In a tent, towards the other side of the page a curly-haired boy with a red jacket and green eyes. A yellow tag on his collar read “Hi, my name is Pj.” 

Chris scowled and crossed his arms with a huff. “So this was all your fault.” 

Dan shrank in his chair. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to!” He put his hands on his ears. 

“Shut up Chris! You don’t know what they did to him.” Phil interjected. 

Tom shook his head and put his hand on Chris’s shoulder. “Don’t be a _dickhead_. He helped us talk to Pj and he didn’t mean to open the portal.” 

Chris unfolded his arms but still looked angry. “Can you open another portal for us to get him back?” 

Dan hesitated, slowly removing his hands from his ears. “Maybe. I can try.” He added an arch to his drawing between Pj and the creature. 

Phil stared at the drawing and nodded. “Ok, we need to plan.”

“We will need to pack everything that’s necessary for the campaign and go. Tomorrow, we get Pj back.” Tom said.

“Why not now?” Chris pushed.

“Because the moment you go home to get your stuff, your mom will notice and force you to stay; it’s late.” Tom pointed out. 

Phil nodded. “Eat well and rest. Bring flashlights, compasses, jackets, water bottles, slingshots, rocks, masks, gloves and anything else you can think of. Your camping stuff too.” He extended his hand to the middle of them and gave Tom a look.

“Ok, ok. I like it. Let’s get our mage back,” Tom said, placing his hand on Phil’s.

“Let’s get our friend back,” Chris said with a small smile and put his hand on top looking towards Dan. 

“Yeah, let’s get Pj back,” Dan smiled and placed his hand on Chris’s. 

That night Dan drew until his eyes couldn’t stay open any longer. He added all of them to the same side of his drawing where Pj was and looked at it until he fell asleep. 

\--

The boys rode their bikes into the woods but left them a few blocks away from Pj’s house to avoid being seen. Dan was shaking in fear, but he was determined to help his new friends get Pj back. After all, it had been his fault that the creature could escape. 

“Can you let him know that we are coming for him?” Chris asked. 

Dan shook his head. “If I try I’m afraid I might not be able to open the portal. It would weaken me.” 

“Where do we go?” Phil asked.

“He said he was near his house, right?” Dan asked.

Phil nodded. 

Dan took a deep breath and started walking.“We should check there first then.” 

“Ok.” Chris followed him.

Once they had searched the area around the house without results, Dan decided that there was no other choice. “Let’s go inside.”

Mrs Liguori’s car was not in the driveway, so it was not likely that they would be caught. They grabbed the spare key from a loose floorboard and entered without a problem. 

They looked around calling for Pj repeatedly, but nothing happened. 

Dan turned on the lights and called him again. “Pj, Can you hear me?”

The lights in the living room started blinking, randomly at first but then marking a pattern towards Pj’s room. Dan followed it, the other boys close behind. When they opened the door, the giant cloud lamp hanging from the ceiling started flickering uncontrollably in all sorts of colours before the power went out. 

The wall near the closet started to swell as if something was trying to come out of it. 

The growling startled them into movement. 

“Run!” Dan yelled. 

They ran as fast as they could, their legs stung and their lungs hurt but they didn’t stop until they reached their bikes. The Demogorgon was nowhere to be seen but they decided to return to Phil’s to be safe.

The rescue mission had failed. 

\--

“We can’t leave him behind!” Chris yelled. 

“We won’t,” Dan assured him. “We need to check that he is ok.”

Chris turned on the walkie talkie once again calling for Pj. A voice came through but it was breaking up badly. 

Dan motioned at Chris to give him the device and spoke into it. “Hello?” 

“Dan!” 

Dan gasped. That didn’t sound like Pj. “Who is this?” He frowned. 

“It’s me, Adrian!” 

Dan dropped the walkie talkie and walked backwards, crawling into his hiding space shaking. “No, no, no, no,” he mumbled.

The voice continued. “I’m here, hiding.” Footsteps could be heard close by. “You have to hurry, your friend is in trouble,” the voice whispered before the communication got cut off. 

Phil crawled beside Dan and put his hand on the other’s. “Who was that?” 

“Adrian,” Dan said absentmindedly. 

Dan’s mind went back to that day. It all made sense now. The curly-haired child he had seen in his memory was not himself, it was his twin brother, Adrian. He was there when the accident happened. 

Dan remembered asking about his brother when he was little, but the Doctors kept telling him that he didn’t have one. Eventually, he had started to believe that. He could only remember flashes of his prior life and day he lost both of his parents. 

He had spent so many years thinking he had no one but it had all been a lie. Dan felt anger rising inside him. A kind of rage he had never felt before. “I _hate_ them!”

“Who?” Phil frowned.

“The Doctors! They said I didn’t have a brother. I thought I was all alone, but it was a _lie_. Adrian is my twin.” 

The boys gasped.

“I thought the memories of the accident were wrong. I thought I was seeing myself from the outside, but now I know it’s true” A few tears rolled down his cheeks but he wiped them angrily. “If he is with Pj, he will protect him, but we need to hurry. We should go back to the woods and find a place to open the portal.” 

“We need an archway!” Tom exclaimed. 

“An archway?” asked Dan. 

“Yeah, they are nature’s way to indicate the existence of a portal so that people don’t walk into them by mistake,” Tom explained.

“That’s in Dungeons and Dragons, not in real life!” Chris huffed.

“Yeah, well there’s a Demogorgon in real life and other dimensions with portals so I say we should try it,” Tom rebutted. 

Phil looked into Dan’s eyes. “Do you think that would work?”

Dan pursed his lips but shrugged. “Theoretically. _Maybe_.” 

\--

The clouds darkened the afternoon sky as they made their way through the woods. Every day since Pj had gone missing the weather had been horribly cold and dark.

Dan closed his eyes and touched different trees trying to feel their energy, but he didn’t feel a pull from any of them. 

“Where’s Tom?” Phil asked, pointing his flashlight around. 

“Guuuys!” Tom called from somewhere towards the Northeast. 

Dan opened his eyes in panic and ran towards Tom’s voice. It didn’t take long to find him. 

Tom stood beneath two trees that laced above his head smiling like a mad man and waving his flashlight around. The branches formed a perfect archway. “Why don’t we try here?” he asked. 

“You idiot, we thought the Demogorgon had gotten to you.” Chris shoved him. 

Phil came to stand very close to Tom’s face. “Never wander off again! What is wrong with you?” 

Tom smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, sorry! I just thought it would be faster if we split up.” He looked at Dan for help.

“Thank you, Tom. But I agree, never do that again.” Dan said, trying to sound serious, but his lips twitched with the effort of avoiding smiling.

Phil remembered what Dan had mentioned about the Virus coming from the very place they were trying to get into and opened his backpack. “Ok. Everyone put on your gloves and masks, this thing is dangerous.” 

They all wrap scarfs and tea towels around their mouths and noses and put on whatever gloves they could find. Some wore kitchen gloves, others gardening or construction ones. 

Dan took a deep breath and extended his hands to the archway. The trees started creaking and a purple light glowed inside forming a circle in the middle of the arch and expanding until it reached the top branches. Dan smiled at his achievement, but he started to feel weaker by the second. He furrowed his brow and continued to push his energy towards the trees. He didn’t know if he’d be able to finish.

Phil looked at Dan intently, noticing how much he was shaking with the effort to open the portal, and remembered how much easier it had been for Dan to use his powers while holding his hand. He stood behind Dan, resting his chin on the other’s shoulder and extended his hands beside Dan’s, letting their fingers touch lightly. Dan looked at him out of the corner of his eye with a blushing smile. 

With Phil’s help, Dan was able to finally open the portal completely for them to cross.

They walked through the opening but once Phil, Tom and Chris had crossed the portal, Dan felt something grab his arm. 

He yelled, feeling the panic overtake him. It was so dark he couldn’t see what was holding him back. Tom quickly turned his flashlight back on and pointed it at him. A boy stood right beside Dan. 

“Dan, Dan! It’s me, Adrian,” the boy said.

Dan immediately stopped struggling and turned towards the voice. He felt relief at seeing his twin brother. Despite not having seen him in years, he felt as if a piece of his heart that had been missing finally return; he was whole again. He hugged Adrian tightly, trying to keep the tears at bay. “I _knew_ you existed. They told me you weren’t real.”

Adrian hugged him back. “I know. They tried to convince me too, but I remembered. When you escaped I knew it was time to leave too. They put guards everywhere, so I had to leave through the door you created.”

Dan smiled. “It’s a portal.”

Adrian smiled back. “Ok, a portal.” He stepped back and looked at the other boys. “You need to hurry, I tried to hide him but that thing found him. Be careful, it can create portals too.”

“Where is Pj?” Chris asked.

“Near the entrance to his house in this world, You’ll know when you see it.” 

“Aren’t you coming with us?” Phil asked.

Adrian shook his head. “No, I’ll keep this portal open for us to leave. I closed the one in the Lab when I crossed it so they couldn’t follow me.”

“How did you know it wouldn’t kill you?” Tom asked.

Adrian shrugged. “I didn’t, but I had to be with Dan.”

Dan smiled sadly. “Wait for us. And if anything happens, close it.”

Adrian nodded. 

The four boys walked carefully through the woods but tried to keep up the pace. This dimension was similar to theirs but dark. It had a constant rain of ashes even though nothing seemed to be burning. The air was pungent, as if it was trying to warn people off and everything was covered in tentacle-like membranes that looked wet and disgusting.

Only a few minutes later they reached a pile of slimey bodies, most of them dressed in lab coats, protective suits or security uniforms. Dan checked them but they were already dead. He looked around and noticed a smaller body and gasped. “Pj?”

Chris ran to him and removed the fluids and membranes from his face. “Peej, come on buddy,” Chris shook him, but Pj remained unconscious. 

He was barely hanging on, raging with fever and breathing heavily. 

Phil removed his gloves and kneeled beside them. With shaking hands, he checked his friend’s pulse. Too fast; his heart was racing. “What do we do? What do we do? He is going to die!” Phil couldn’t keep his emotions at bay any longer, he started to sob. The thought of losing his friend terrified him to no end. 

Dan put his hands on Pj’s chest and focused all his energy in making him expel all the fluid filling his lungs. 

Chris stood back watching raptly. Tom pulled his jacket, trying to get his attention. “Chris, look at all these eggs around us.”

Chris turned swiftly and saw several glowing eggs covered in the same membranes that were taking over everything around them. “Shit, what do we do?” His eyes travelled back to Pj, feeling relief when he noticed he was awake. 

Tom smiled. “He is going to be ok, but we need to handle this.”

Chris frowned. “How?”

“We cast fireball.” Tom said, reaching for the lighter he had packed for the journey. 

Chris smiled. “Hell yeah!” They went around setting the eggs on fire but noticed the membranes around them starting to move.

“Uuum, guys. How is he?” Tom asked with urgency.

“He is getting better,” Dan said as Pj coughed up some of the black fluid filling his lungs.

Phil rubbed Pj’s back comfortingly. “Come on, Peej, you can do it. Let it out!”

Tom looked around, he could feel something coming. “Guys, we need to get out, right now.”

“It’s here!” Chris yelled. 

A growl pierced the air. The Demogorgon had found them. 

Its face split open like a flower to reveal hundreds of sharp teeth before it went straight for Pj. Dan stood between them and focused all his energy into splicing the creature. It screeched for a moment before its flesh was nothing but a messy pile on the ground. 

Dan’s knees buckled as he slowly slid to the ground. 

“We need to leave right now,” Phil yelled. “You two help Pj; I’ll carry Dan.”

Tom and Chris frowned but did as they were told. It took them a few minutes to go back to the entrance. 

Phil frowned when he noticed that Adrian was nowhere to be seen, but he rushed towards the portal. 

Adrian walked out from behind a tree with a smirk on his lips, it made the boys stop on their tracks. 

“I see you’ve found your friend,” Adrian said as his nose started to bleed. He ran towards Chris and took the lighter from his hand and kept running before they could react. 

Another creature stood behind them frozen by Adrian’s powers. It could only growl before he set it ablaze. “Come on, there could be more.” 

He guided them through the portal and once they had reached the other side, he shut his eyes focusing on closing it. The glow inside the archway flickered but didn’t fully disappear. 

Adrian lowered his eyes as he felt a hand holding onto his, Dan smiled weakly. “I’m here.” 

Phil stood beside Dan holding him up, Tom put his hand on Phil’s and extended the other to Chris, who joined them with a smile. Pj sat on the ground trying to catch his breath, but he stretched his hand and laced his fingers with Chris’s. 

The portal glowed more intensely before shattering like a mirror.

\--

Once home, they sneaked into the basement. The lights turned on before Phil got the chance to do anything.

Martyn and Cornelia were waiting. 

Martyn crossed his arms above his chest. “Where were you? It’s 2 am, are you crazy? Mum is going to kill you!”

Phil whined. “I needed to help Pj! You can’t tell her.”

Martyn gasped. “Pj? How did you find him?”

“You wouldn’t believe it,” said Dan.

Martyn raised his eyebrows. “Try me.”

Martyn helped them get their story straight. He did believe what they were saying, but he knew that the press, the government, or anyone else wouldn’t. They needed to present the truth in a way that was plausible and supported by evidence. First, he typed an anonymous letter to the main newscast in Cumbria about the Lab’s activities, going into detail about how they experimented on children and how they had covered up being the source of the virus and consequently the reason the entire town had to go into lockdown.

It took a few weeks to get the story rolling, but with the help of Mr Smith they finally made it. He met with Martyn under the promise of exclusive information about the outbreak and the Lab’s involvement in it so long as he remained an anonymous source and that the story would be run until the end. 

When the day finally came, every family in Cumbria was watching.

_“Good morning Cumbria. Today we have a breaking story for you. We have Greg in the Cumbria Research Lab. Greg, What's the story?”_

_“Good morning Sarah, it is complete madness here, as you can see, the police are running an investigation and they are ready to share some information with us.” He placed the microphone close to the chief of Police._

_“Good morning, yes. An undercover officer was able to determine that the leads about this facility’s illegal activities were on the right track, so we are shutting it down. The chain of command is still under investigation, but as of this moment, the workers from the Cumbria Research Lab have been taken into custody. It was determined that they were conducting experiments on children ranging from 3 to 14 years old. One of them being Pj Liguori, who has already been safely returned to his mother. The remaining children will be returned to their families shortly.”_

_Mr Smith smiled proudly. “In what condition was Pj found?”_

_“That brave young man had managed to escape through a draining pipe outside of the building a few days ago. He was cold and wearing only a lab coat when our officers found him and provided him with a jacket. The hospital confirmed that he is in good health despite the traumatic experience; he has only a mild cough at the moment. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the entire Cumbria Police department for their dedicated work. If they hadn’t looked for Pj night and day, we might have lost him.”_

_Mr Smith frowned even though his smile didn’t falter. “Of course. What else can you tell us about the experiments conducted in this lab?”_

_“I can’t share most of the information since the investigation is still running, but what I can say is that we believe the virus that has been spreading through this town came from this place. We are still looking into that, but I can confirm that the first people infected worked here in the research rooms.”_

_“Thank you for your time chief. Back to you in the studio, Sarah.”_

\--

Dan and Adrian had spent three weeks in quarantine before someone could receive them. Phil had begged his mom to foster the kids with Martyn’s support but when the family went to file the request, they were informed that they had a living family member willing to take them in. 

The twins were ecstatic to know that their grandma was still alive and loved them. She had hugged them and cried, kissing them repeatedly, apologizing for believing what the doctors had said, for not asking to see their bodies. Nine years after they had been taken from their family, they were finally going home. 

Phil, Tom, Chris and Pj were allowed to say goodbye to the twins before they moved away. Dan had hugged Phil, rubbing his back as he cried. “Don’t cry, Philly. This won’t be the last time you will see me,” he said with a watery smile. “We will always be friends.” 

“Promise?” Phil had sniffled. 

“Promise.” 

“Group hug!” Said Tom wrapping his arms around Dan and Phil, Chris and Pj joining soon after. Finally, Pj opened one of his arms and looked at Adrian. “Get in here, you are part of the party.”

Adrian smiled and wrapped his arms around his new friends, finally feeling part of something bigger than himself.

\--

Two months after the outbreak had started, Cumbria was finally declared a virus-free zone. The early action of the government had made it so it didn’t spread to other towns and the emergency was successfully overcome. 

Shortly after, schools finally reopened. Phil left his bike in the usual spot and looked around. He soon found Tom, Chris and Pj but he kept glancing at the cars dropping kids off. 

He sighed in defeat and joined his friends. The four of them made their way to the entrance, but Phil stopped in his tracks and smiled when he saw two identical curly-haired boys waiting by the main door. 

It was going to be a good year. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos will be greatly appreciated! I'm trying to challenge myself with my new projects. I was going to make this fic spooky but i ran out of time. Next time, I guess? 😂
> 
> [ART LINK](https://softphiily.tumblr.com/post/624089399426236417/my-artwork-for-the-phandomreversebang-its-a)
> 
> I posted a dark and angsty fic a few days ago, you can read it here: [Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25215358/chapters/61118272)
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr: [Succubusphan](http://Succubusphan.tumblr.com/)
> 
> In case you wish to reblog the fic: [Tumblr Link](https://succubusphan.tumblr.com/post/624090203935653888/twinkle-twinkle-litle-nightmare)
> 
> Here's the playlist I created to write this fic: [Playlist](https://succubusphan.tumblr.com/post/624090203935653888/twinkle-twinkle-litle-nightmare)


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